Past the World's End
by MBLite
Summary: Ch. 5 is up. Utena X-Men: Evolution Crossover. Rating has gone up for language and a shred of sexuality.
1. 01

AN: Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since this story will probably only appeal to people who are fans of both Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena) and X-Men: Evolution.  None of my other stories come into play here, so we're starting from square one.  This story is set after the end of the Utena anime series.  Jean and Scott are in their second year of college, Kitty is a high school senior.  With luck this will make sense and not be the stupidest thing I've ever thought of.  

"Let's live our lives heroically, let's live them with style…" –from the opening theme of Shoujo Kakumei Utena

It was like walking into Rome, or at least, like what she imagined walking into Rome would be.  In the morning sun, the white was so bright that it nearly blinded her.  She climbed the stone steps from the dormitory section to the main campus and the view of the hills took her breath away.  Green hills set with white buildings, vibrant color, and everywhere the smell of roses which she still hadn't gotten used to, even after living there all summer playing catch up with the curriculum.  

            The Academy had bewitched Xavier, with its soft and cunning promises of a strict non-discrimination policy, an eagerness to be the most mutant friendly private preparatory and university in the world, starting with its U.S. campus in the north of New York.  Kitty could see how Scott had been so easily won over, and soon after him Jean.  She'd been shocked when Xavier had transferred the rest of the main team as well, but suspected that the increasing impatience of the Bayville Board of Education had played a much more influential role than beautiful architecture.

            "There are three others, you know," a voice said at Kitty's right.  She turned to see a boyish looking girl who looked like she was around twenty or so, but something about her seemed so much older.  Her clothes were well pressed, a black and white uniform with clean lines, but her short hair was vivid bubblegum pink.

            "Three other what?" Kitty asked, fidgeting with her own uniform's puffy sleeves and short skirt.

            "Three other campuses," the girl replied.  "Three other Ohtoris.  At the one in Tokyo, it seemed like summer year round.  In Marrakech, they say its always springtime, in London, always autumn."  A faint smile came to the girl's lips, and a faint pain crept into her eyes.  "Wasting away, one fair day after another, feeling like the summer would never end."

            "Sounds nice," Kitty said sincerely.  The smile slipped off the girl's face.  

            "Winter is all that's left for anyone now.  In summer you lose track of the time.  In winter, you lose track of your place.  Though I dare say you've lost track of both."

            Kitty turned as the clocktower's strident bells began to chime out nine.

            "Oh no," she muttered.  The girl smiled again, but with that same sickly pain in her eye.

            "Hurry now," she said, and walked down the stairs.  Kitty ran off to class as fast as her legs could move.  

            "She reminds me of someone," the girl said.

            "Who?"

            "My first girlfriend."

            _In winter you lose track of place, in summer you lose track of time…_

            "What do you lose in spring and fall then?" Kitty murmured aloud.

            "In spring, one loses all sense of reason," a voice replied.  "In autumn, all sense of compassion.  A very good question, Miss Pryde."

            Kitty looked around to see that her math class had emptied out, and only she and the teacher, Kaoru-sensei, remained.

            "Oh geeze, I'm so sorry, I must've spaced out," Kitty said, leaping up and scrambling to gather her books.  The teacher smiled kindly.

            "Please don't worry, Miss Pryde," he replied.  "I'd sooner see you lost in thought than found in the lack of it."

            Kitty smiled, though she wasn't at all sure what he meant, and left the classroom.  As she moved into the white light of the courtyard, she heard a voice call her name.  She turned, but couldn't find the source.  

            "Kitty!"  The voice called again.  A shadow fell over her as two people approached.  She shielded her eyes from the sun and the figures came into focus.

            "We've been looking all over for you!"

            Kitty hadn't seen Jean and Scott since they last came home for winter break.  They'd seemed different then, and they seemed even more so now.  They were dressed in white uniforms, Jean's trimmed in jade green, Scott's trimmed in red.  Instead of his old, sleek and sporty sunglasses, Scott wore ones which were perfectly round with metal shields on the sides, like turn of the century welding goggles.  Kitty could actually see his eyes for the first time behind the thin red quartz; they looked as though blood colored smoke was rising from the irises.

            Jean looked as though she'd taken her hairstyle straight from _Pride and Prejudice; _the red of her hair was all pinned to the top of her head, except for a curled tendril on either side of her face.

            "Wow… you guys look… different," Kitty said.  The two gave each other knowing smiles.

            "Ah yes," Jean said.

            "The uniforms," Scott added.

            "We joined the student council our second semester."

            "Oh," Kitty said.  They sounded different too, speaking in tandem with deceit in their voices.  It was so strange, she couldn't recall who had spoken each time.  "That's great.  Have you seen Rogue around at all?"

            Their eyes hardened.

            "Actually, it's Maigo now."

            "Rogue was no proper name for a lady."

            "Oh.  Cool.  So have you seen her?"

            "You know Maigo," Scott smiled.

            "Likes to keep to herself."

            "Right," Kitty said nervously.  "So how are you two?"

            "Fine."

            "Wonderful," Jean added.  "We wanted to invite you to the fencing tournament of Thursday."

            "Fencing?"

            "Bigger than football here," Scott smiled.

            "We're in the beginners' trials," Jean said.  "For foil."

            "No, I'll totally try to make it," Kitty replied.

            "That's great," Jean said.

            "It's so great to have you back with us," Scott added.  Kitty gave a little shiver as they turned and walked away.  After class she'd have to find Rogue.  This place was far too strange these days.

            Kitty shared a room with another sophomore named Lily Laurie, who would sometimes strike her as the only normal soul in all of Ohtori.  She had red hair, but it was real red, not blood colored like Jean's, and it was curly and tended to frizz.  She exploded in freckles after ten minutes in the sun, and sang off key in the showers.  She looked up as Kitty walked in through the door of the room they shared and shut it behind her.  

            "Rough day at the office, dear?" Lily asked from behind her book on the top bunk.  Kitty rested her head against the wood with a thump.

            "You have no idea.  I really hope this place doesn't turn me into a weirdo too."

            "Hey, I'm as normal as normal can be!" Lily said.  Kitty tossed her bookbag in the corner and flopped onto the bottom bunk.

            "Not you, ditz, my friends from Massachusetts.  Jean and Scott.  I just ran into them for the first time in months and they're like, totally different people."

            "College does that," Lily said from above her.  "You think you'll be friends for life, you believe them when they say they'll stay in touch, but everyone drifts apart."

            "We were all really tight once," Kitty murmured softly.  "We were a team."

            "It happens, Kit."

            "They started acting _super _weird when I asked about my old roommate."

            "The goth chick?

            "Yeah.  When I asked about her, they said she'd changed her name to Maigo."

            Lily snorted from the top bunk.

            "I think they were teasing you, Kit," Lily replied.  "Maigo's an Ohtori urban legend."

            "What?"

            "There's this big empty dorm, it's been being renovated as long as I've been here, but I never see anyone working on it.  About a year ago people started saying they'd seen a ghost or a monster in there, and started calling it Maigo."

            Kitty lay there in silence for a moment.  

            "What's it called?"

            "Flandreau Hall.  It's on the top of the hill next to the stadium.  Oh, are you going to the fencing tournament on Thursday?"

            _Flandreau Hall…_

            "Yeah," Kitty said.  "I'll be there."

            Later that day, Kitty sat staring out the window in history class, much as she had that morning in math.  Unfortunately, Professor Arisugawa was nowhere near as forgiving as Professor Kaoru had been.

            "Miss Pryde," the cold voice rang out, piercing her reverie.  Kitty looked up guiltily, and Professor Arisugawa fixed her with a chilly glance.  The rest of the class knew better than to giggle at Kitty's misfortune, less they share in it as well.  Professor Arisugawa continued.  

            "I realize that in this country it is customary to drive students into a stupor with Eurocentric perspectives on history.  However, if you would lend me your attention, perhaps you will not find the more expanded view quiet so tedious."

            She turned back to the board and resumed her chalk-rendered diagram of the power hierarchy in feudal Japan.

            Kitty took diligent notes through the rest of class.  Professor Arisugawa never failed to finish exactly on time; as soon as she spoke her last words, the bell would ring, and today was no exception.  With great trepidation, Kitty approached the professor's desk as the others filed out.

            "Professor Arisugawa…" Kitty began softly.

            "Unless we are in the presence of other faculty or my class is in session, you will address me as Juri-san."

            Kitty was taken aback by the young teacher's sudden statement.  Juri looked up and locked her in place with a sky blue stare.

            "What is your question?"           

            "What do you know about Flandreau Hall?"

            "I am told it is under renovations," the teacher answered.

            "But no one's ever there."

            "What would that mean?"

            "No renovations are currently going on if no one's there to do them," Kitty said automatically.

            "Which means that whosoever claims that they are…"

            "Is mistaken."

            "Or?" Juri prompted.

            "Or lying."

            "Why?"

            "So that no one finds out why it's empty.  Is it really haunted?" Kitty blurted out.  She blushed, expecting Juri to laugh at her, but with a calm face the teacher replied,

            "There is more than one kind of haunting.  And there is more than one kind of ghost."

            "Who is Maigo?"

            "Perhaps Maigo is one kind of ghost.  Names have meaning, perhaps if you discover that, you'll discover what this ghost wants."

            "It wants something?"  Kitty said, astonished by the strangeness of her conversation with this terrifying woman.

            "Everyone wants something, Kitty-chan," Juri replied with uncharacteristic warmth.  For the first time, Kitty noticed the beautiful gold locket resting on Juri's breastbone.

            "If I went to Flandreau Hall, would I get in trouble?"  Kitty asked in a hushed voice.

            "That would depend on if you got caught," Juri said, all warmth vanishing.  "But more importantly on who caught you."

            Juri stood up and gathered her papers into her satchel.

            "We're nearly late for supper, Miss Pryde.  Come, I'll walk you."

            One of Ohtori's strangest practices was the mandatory presence of each student and staff member in the enormous marble lined banquet hall for dinner each night.  The board sat at the center table on a raised platform, with the staff to their right and the student council to their left.  Below them, the rest of the student body sat at long tables, one for each year, grade two to university seniors.  Fourteen tables stretching from one side of the room, which was about the size of a football field, to the other, displaying the students to their authority and vice versa.

            At this first dinner of the new semester, Kitty found it an entirely new experience.  Over the summer, the hall was sparsely populated, the platform only occupied by the skeleton crew of faculty who taught summer school.  Now that the board and the council had reconvened and the rest of the students had returned, it was a majestic sight.

            The council wore their white uniforms with colored trim, the faculty whatever they chose, and the board uniforms similar to the council in colors of their choosing.  

            "Who is that?" Kitty asked Lily as they sat down.

            "Who's who?" Lily replied, glancing around.  

            "The woman in the middle at the board table."

            "That's Chairwoman Himemiya," Lily answered.  "She's in charge.  Like, _really _in charge."

            Jean caught Kitty's eye from the council table and raised her water glass slightly.  Kitty smiled wanly back, uneasy at Jean's ability to hone in on her in such a crowd.

            _"Don't worry, Kitty," _Jean's voice said in her head.  _"Now that Scott and I are back, we'll take good care of you."_

            Kitty looked down at her plate, wishing she could vanish into the crowd, use her powers and sink through the floor, hide intangible in the dirt below.  Then, everyone turned to look at the Board's table as Chairwoman Himemiya stood up.  She surveyed them all with dark jade eyes behind large round glasses, her waves of violet hair were held at the base of her neck with a clip, and the uniform she wore was black.  She smiled and spoke.

            "Welcome, students, to Ohtori Academy.  If this is your first semester with us, we're glad to have you, if you're returning to us, we're glad to have you back.  I thank all of you for indulging me by joining me for dinner every evening.  I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the distinguished members of the Academy's governing board.

            "To my left, Miss Kanae Ohtori, vice president of finance and management, Miss Kozue Kaoru, vice president of external affairs, and Professor Touga Kiryuu, liaison to the Student Council.  To my right, the academy archivist Kyouichi Saionji, Professor Juri Arisugawa, vice president of academic affairs, and Professor Miki Kaoru, vice president of student life.

            "I sincerely hope your stay at Ohtori Academy is an enjoyable and enriching time in you lives."

            With that, she sat down, and the staff started pushing trolleys between the tables and serving.

            Kitty craned her neck.  She was at the table for high school seniors, Rogue should have been at the one right behind her, for University freshmen.  She scanned up and down the table, but the only anomaly she observed was an empty chair.

            _"You know Maigo," _Jean's voice said in her head.  _"Keeps to herself."_

            Kitty turned back around in her seat.  The staff had served up a potato and leek soup as the first course, which Kitty consumed as quickly as she could without being stared at.  As progressive as Ohtori Academy's thoughts on mutants may have been, they had completely missed the train on vegetarianism.  Thus, Kitty frequently found that she was not as full as she'd care to be at the end of the meal.  Lily slid her bowl of soup over, and Kitty handed her her plate of fried dumplings.  Out of the corner of her eye, Kitty glanced up at Scott and Jean, who were whispering conspiratorially at the Council table.  At the Board table, there seemed to be deep tension between the three officials to the Chairwoman's right and those at her left. 

            "What's with everyone here?" Kitty muttered.  

            "What do you mean?"  Lily replied with a mouthful of dumpling.

            "Aside from the overall weirdness everyone exudes?  Well, let's start with the hair.  Green, orange, blue, violet, blue again, primary red, and okay _one _blonde.  And I ran into a lady with pink hair this morning.  Is everyone but us working for Manic Panic, or in a band or something?"

            Lily smiled.

            "Oh you should talk, you're the poster child for superheroes anonymous.  Tell me the truth, did you beg them to let you wear your spandex and leather to class?"

            "Just cause you have a point doesn't mean you don't suck," Kitty muttered.  

AN: Marrakech = a city in Morocco.


	2. 02

AN: Here is chapter two.  When I read the actual idea for the crossover, it seems actively dumb, but I'm really enjoying writing this.  I'm trying to keep the plot fairly evenly balanced between Utena and X-Men.  There may be a few odd couples in this story, but I'll try to justify them logically.  Anyway:  on with the show.

_"Glad you made it, welcome to the farm._

_Who's your daddy? I'm your daddy now._

_I'm here seeking only what I need,_

_In your mind is where I'll plant my seed._

_It's for sure._

_Let me keep you in this place,_

_You'll be better off this way._

_I will keep you warm and safe,_

_You'll be better off this way._

_You learn to love the price you pay:_

_Trust me dear, you're better off this way."_

_-Guster, "The Airport Song"_

            "I won't be swayed, Touga," Anthy said, sipping her rose-hip tea in the garden two days later.  "The End of the World has been and gone, the revolution has been and gone."

            "Akio started at the wrong time, Anthy," Touga insisted, pacing back and forth by the table where Saionji, Juri, Miki and Anthy sat.  "The world wasn't ready to be born."

            "It was and it has," Anthy replied.  "I'm very tired of having this same conversation every day, Touga."

            "And what was Utena Tenjou's great revolution?  To make you a stubborn wretch," Touga muttered.

            "Harsh words for one you once loved," Saionji said coldly.  "Perhaps you're merely bitter that Tenjou's revolution was not to please you."

            "That was then, this is now.  The egg can crack without breaking, and we're still rotting inside."

            "What a lovely image," Anthy murmured.  Touga shot her a dirty look.

            "I think I liked you better when things like sarcasm and dissention didn't occur to you."

            "And I think I liked you better when you were playing at princedom to get your baser needs met, Touga."

            "There is no more End of the World, Touga," Juri said.  

            "Akio is gone, Anthy is no longer the Rose Bride, the Sword of Dios broken.  How would you propose that Dueling resume?" Saionji added, narrowing his eyes.

            "These gifted children who Anthy has drawn here," Touga said.  "The world is ending again through their existence."

            "There is a difference between evolution and revolution," Miki said gently.  "The two are not related.  The Chairwoman is merely providing refuge to a disenfranchised group."

            "Unless there is something else you wish to discuss, Touga, either sit down and have tea with us or go away," Anthy said evenly.  "I won't discuss this further.  There will be no more Duels.  That time is gone."

            Touga turned and walked away, his face composed but his teeth clenched in fury.  What sort of revolution changed so little?

            Once he was gone, Juri spoke.

            "He'll act with or without us."

            "How can he, without the Sword of Dios?" Miki replied.  Saionji looked across the table at Juri, who met his look in silent agreement.

            "I am not convinced that it is destroyed," he said.

            "I don't think it can be destroyed," Anthy said.  "A sword in two pieces is none the less a sword."

            "Do you know where it is?" Miki said, shocked.

            "I know where I left it," Anthy replied.  "Or part of it."

            "Where?"  Miki and Saionji said simultaneously.  Juri shook her head.

            "Where else?  With the only one who deserved it."

            Saionji's voice dropped to a whisper, lest Touga still be there to hear him.

            "Tenjou still has the sword?"

            Anthy sighed and set her teacup down.

            "She does not know it, but she opened my coffin, she released the piece of the sword trapped within, and it returned to her, its true master.  The hilt end was lost."

            Her three companions sat in silence, until finally Miki asked,

            "What does that mean?  Does that mean Utena-sempai is now the rose bride?"

            Anthy gave him a gentle smile.

            "I am no longer privy to such secrets, Miki.  Tomorrow, Utena and I will go to the Dueling arena and we will see what we will see."

            Anthy said no more, and simply sipped her tea.

            Touga stalked back to Beaudelaire Hall, where he, Kanae, and Kozue all had their residences, as well as a few members of the Student Council, and returned to the parlor where he was awaited.

            "Well?" Kozue asked when she heard the door open.  Touga slammed the door and came into the parlor, sitting down with an irritable thump.

            "Not at all well," he replied sourly.  "If that bitch knows where the rest of the sword is, she isn't telling."

            "Then we're right back where we started," Kanae sighed.  "No Himemiya, no sword; no sword, no revolution."

            "And our replacement Rose Bride still isn't cooperating," Kozue added.  "Not that she's much good to us with half a sword."  

            "The sword of Dios is a living thing which chooses its own master, Kozue.  Even broken it is still a powerful thing."

            "But if Anthy still controls half that power-" Kanae started.

            "Then we will have to fight her for it," Touga replied.  "Remember, friends.  Few and far between are the revolutions that come without a war.  Isn't that right?"

            "We couldn't agree more," Jean replied, smiling from her chair with her elbow resting on Scott's shoulder.  

            "The council is ready to act.  Just say the world, Touga."

            "I'll check on our replacement Bride during the fencing tournament," Touga said.  

            "Your absence might be noticed," Jean replied in a wounded voice.  Kozue rolled her eyes.

            "Touga-san has seen much better fencing in his time than yours, Jean Grey, believe me, he won't be missing out."

            Jean bristled, but Scott put his hand over hers and she held back.

            "Of course, the business of the End of the World is more important.  We await your instructions, Touga.  If there is no other business that needs discussing, we'll head to bed."

            Jean and Scott left the table arm in arm, and the rest of the table sat in silence until they heard the door of the bedroom the two shared clicked shut.

            "I don't trust them," Kozue said in a low growl.

            "And they don't trust you," Touga sighed.  

            "It's probably for the best," Kanae said.  "I don't think any of us are very trustworthy anymore, if we ever were."

            "Go to bed," Touga sighed, rubbing his forehead.  "I'll handle it."

            Kanae and Kozue stood and looked at his coolly.

            "Remember Touga-san," Kanae began.

            "We don't trust you either," Kozue finished.  

            Tuesday and Wednesday went by without incident, though some of the other students looked at Kitty with awe after having seen her come to dinner on Monday with Professor Arisugawa herself.  That was overshadowed by the buzz about the fencing tournament.  Professor Kaoru was coaching the team, and everyone was convinced, even though the first competition wasn't until seven that evening, that Ohtori would take the championship.  

            "Hey, Kit, where you going?" Lily called after Kitty as she veered away from the crowd heading from the banquet hall towards the stadium.

            "I have to go take care of something, I'll be a little late!" Kitty called back, hurrying away before Lily could pry or argue.  She walked along the path between buildings to go around behind the stadium, approaching the hill where Flandreau Hall loomed in the darkness.  She swallowed hard as she stepped into complete darkness among the trees.

            "Hi again," a familiar voice said from a few yards away, causing Kitty to shriek and leap into the air.  She turned to see the pink haired tomboy with her hands in her pockets smiling sheepishly.

            "Sorry about that," the girl said.  "How come you're not in the stadium with the rest of the world?"

            "I was gonna go, but I don't really think fencing's my thing," Kitty replied.  For some reason this made the other girl smile broadly and almost laugh.

            "Are you headed home?" she asked Kitty.

            "I'm gonna try to visit a friend first," Kitty answered.

            "Would you mind if I walked you?" the girl said.  "It's kind of late to be out by yourself."

            "Sure," Kitty said without thinking.  It was too dark and too scary in the trees, the sun had set early for September, and she didn't want to be alone.  "What's your name, anyway?" she asked.

            "Utena," the girl answered.  "And yours?"

            "Kitty Pryde," Kitty said.  A breeze rustled the trees and Kitty shivered involuntarily.  The other girl unbuttoned the black and white jacket of the uniform she wore and handed it to Kitty.

            "Won't you be cold?"

            "Nah," the girl replied, though all she wore underneath was a black tank top.  "Besides, we can't have new students freezing their first week."

            Utena and Kitty began the slow walk up the path of stairs which wound up the hill to Flandreau Hall.

            "Do you work at the school?" Kitty asked her.  Utena smiled and shrugged.

            "Not really.  I'm just one of the concerned alumni, really.  I went to school at the Ohtori academy in Tokyo with most of the board."

            "Really?"  Kitty said.  "Professor Kaoru seems really nice."

            Utena smiled.

            "You'd be very hard pressed to find anyone nicer."

            "I like Professor Arisugawa too, even if she is kind of intimidating."

            At this, Utena laughed outright.

            "That's about the mildest term I've _ever _heard used to describe Juri, that's for sure.  You're pretty brave."

            "Not really," Kitty shrugged.  

            "What about Professor Kiryuu?  Does he teach freshmen as well?"

            "No, I haven't gotten to meet him."

            Utena had stopped walking and turned to peer back down the way they'd come.

            "Shhh…" she said softly.  "I think I hear footsteps."

            Sure enough, a figure slowly revealed itself, rising like the sun up the hill, and Utena's eyes narrowed further.  

            "Go on without me, Kitty," Utena said firmly.  "Go see your friend.  If anyone knocks, don't answer.  Get going."

            Kitty found herself pounding up the stairs still wearing Utena's jacket as the older girl remained to face whatever was coming.

            "Touga Kiryuu," Utena said.  Touga stopped on the stairs to stare up at her.

            "I was not aware you were on campus," he said finally.

            "Now you know," she answered.  "What are you doing here?"

            Touga smiled and tossed his head.

            "Why Utena, I work here.  I teach poetry and literature to romantic high schoolers, and I advise the student council.  It's all perfectly innocent."

            "Don't try to make a fool of me, Touga Kiryuu.  None of us is as young as they used to be," she snapped.  

            "I have business up that hill," he said, crossing his arms.  Utena saw that between his fingers hung an envelope sealed shut with blood-red wax, pressed with the impression of a rose.

            "We won't let you, Touga," she said fervently.  "Anthy and I.  We won't let anyone toy with children the way you and Akio toyed with us, never again."

            "I have business up that hill," Touga said again, blithely ignoring Utena's heated statement.

            "And I have business down it," Utena replied, walking down the stairs, knocking Touga's shoulder as she brushed past him.  Touga laughed out loud, his voice ringing through the early evening.

            "Tell me, Utena Tenjou," he said, looking over his shoulder at her as she descended.  "Are you wiser as well as older?"

            She didn't answer him or turn around and kept walking.

            Touga smiled and continued up the hill.  

            Kitty reached up and lifted the iron knocker, pounding on the door three times.

            "Hello?" she called quietly.  She tried the latch, but it was locked.  Doors had never been much of a barrier to Kitty, however.  She hadn't used her powers on purpose all summer, there had been no need.  In spite of this, she slipped through the solid oak without difficulty.

            "Hello?" she called again.  She heard some rustling, someone was definitely there.  "Maigo?" 

            She yelped as a ceramic vase hurtled across the room and shattered against the wall near her.

            "That's not my name, _I don't have a name, _now GET OUT!"  a voice roared from the darkness.  Kitty would have run, if she didn't know that voice.  She groped against the wall and found the light switch and flipped it, but the building must've had no electricity.

            "Rogue?" Kitty called out.  "It's Kitty.  I'm sorry I called you that, they told me that was your name now…"

            She listened carefully to the direction from which the ragged laughter emerged.

            "They did, huh?  Who's they?  Kiryuu?  Scott and Jean?  They can go to hell.  All of them.  I may not have a name, but I'm not lost, I'm not a shell, I won't take any name of theirs…"

            Kitty walked carefully towards the voice as Rogue ranted.  The moon had risen a bit, enough to throw some light into the room, and Kitty saw Rogue in the corner.  She was wearing the same sort of uniform as Kitty, and all the gothic makeup was gone, but she looked horrible.  Her hair was matted, her clothes ripped, and her face dirty, her fingernails ragged.  

            "Oh my god, Rogue."  

            When Rogue saw what Kitty wore, she sighed with relief.

            "I thought for sure you were with them.  I thought I was the only one left.  Oh god, Kitty, I don't… why would anyone come here?"

            As the room got brighter, Kitty saw that there were letters, unopened, strewn all across the floor, white envelopes sealed shut by blood red wax pressed with a rose-shaped signet.  Kitty was about to open her mouth to speak when another letter came through the slot in the door.  

            "Maigo, the council has lost patience with you," a rich voice said from outside the door.  "Tomorrow we will bring you out if we have to drag you, and you will start acting in a manner befitting the Rose Bride.  This can be as simple or as unpleasant as you choose, Maigo.  The council does not take well to inconvenience, and we have a long memory."

            Kitty stood as still as she could for what felt like forever, looking into Rogue's terrified and furious eyes.  

            "Kill you, Kiryuu, kill you, Kiryuu," she droned over and over under her breath.  Kitty phased through the wall of the house and saw no one, then returned.

            "Come on," she said to Rogue, who was still rocking back and forth and chanting her incoherent curse on the  .  "We're leaving."

            Rogue shook her head violently. 

            "No.  It's safer here."

            "It's not, Rogue, you heard them, they're gonna come and bring you out of here tomorrow, so you'd better not be here when they get here!" Kitty insisted, dropping to her knees and collecting the letters from the floor.  "We'll figure this out, they can't do this to anyone.  We'll call Professor Xavier."

            "They've gotten to him," Rogue said from her corner.  "They told him they can change the world if he does what they say, sends them more kids."

            "There're people who'll help," Kitty said, stuffing the letters into a pocket of Utena's jacket.  "There have to be.  Can you walk?" she asked.

            "Yeah, but there's no where to go, there's no where-"

            "Okay, the pessimism?  Not helping.  Everyone's at the fencing tournament, no one's gonna see you.  My roommate won't rat you out, we'll get you cleaned up and we'll figure out a plan."  

            She got under Rogue's arm and helped her up.

            "God, no offense, but you smell _horrible,_" Kitty said.  "You are _so _taking a shower when we get to my dorm."

            "You gotta promise me that you won't tell Jean and Scott where I am…"

            "I don't trust those two any further than I can launch them with a pair of rubber bands," Kitty answered, phasing them both through the door.  

            "Thanks, Kitty.  I missed you."

            "Don't worry about it.  I missed you too."

            "You're late," Anthy said, smiling in the moonlight.  Utena ran a hand through her hair as she reached the floor of the dueling arena and smiled wearily.

            "I'm sorry.  I ran into a young friend, who was out far too late to be by herself, so I walked her where she was going.  Then I ran into an old friend who was up to no good."

            "Touga?"

            "The very same," Utena replied, sitting down on the ground and gazing up at the dream-castle in the sky above them.  "This would be a great place to stargaze if it weren't for that damn castle."

            "Touga is still pursuing the girl?"  Anthy said gravely.  Utena looked away from the castle.

            "Was my revolution so disappointing?" Utena asked her, with a half smile.

            "Not to me.  Never to me.  And not to the world.  They just don't remember what they were missing now that they have it."

            Utena sighed.  

            "I suppose you're right.  And even if we didn't change anything at all, we can't let another person be enslaved."

            "Like I was," Anthy said.

            "Like we both were."

            Anthy extended her hand down to Utena and helped her up.

            "Shall we?" Utena asked.  "I've always wondered how this feels…"

            "I've always wondered what it's like to do it," Anthy replied.

            Utena shut her eyes and spread her arms wide, throwing her head back and holding her breath.  She felt a warmth in her chest, like the gentle burn of liquor, and then gasped as the force of the experience caused her to tip backwards.  She would've fallen if it weren't for Anthy, who was there with an arm behind Utena's back.  

            Utena felt so light, so insubstantial and weak as the sword materialized and Anthy drew it out.  Anthy gently lowered them both to the ground until Utena could catch her breath.

            "That was so odd…" she whispered.  "Such a strange feeling."

            "Utena… this isn't the sword of Dios," Anthy said, examining the blade and hilt.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Look," Anthy said.  "The broken piece grew back into a complete sword."

            "Like a starfish-arm…" Utena said.  Anthy nodded.

            "The blade looks a lot like the sword of Dios, but look at the hilt.  This is a rapier, the sword of Dios was a saber," she pointed out.  Indeed, this sword's hilt and pommel were made of deceptively delicate spirals of golden metal.  Instead of the blush-colored rose set in the pommel of the sword of Dios, this sword had a beautiful carved ivory flower of true bright white.  Anthy shifted the sword, and in the moonlight she saw a word etched so small at the hilt end of the blade.

            "Alma," Anthy said.  "This is the sword of Alma."

            "Who's Alma?" Utena asked.  "And what's her sword doing in my chest?"

            "Not who, what.  Dios meant God.  Alma means soul.  This is the sword of soul."

            Anthy put the sword in Utena's hands and it dissolved.  Utena took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

            "Well, I feel like me again," she said.  "So if that's the sword of Alma, then what happened to the sword of Dios?"

            "It broke in two.  If the other half found a place to grow, then the power of Dios could be divided."

            "Or doubled," Utena said.  "A starfish is a starfish."

            "And a sword is a sword," Anthy replied.  "Let's leave.  The fencing tournament will be over soon, and we don't want to draw a crowd."

            "True enough," Utena replied, helping Anthy up.  

            "By the way, what happened to your jacket?"  Anthy asked as they descended the stairs.


	3. 03

AN: Officially announcing some of the couples (I'm a romantic, I can't help it).  While it won't be anything terribly lemony, Utena and Anthy are together, as are Scott and Jean, but that one you probably guessed.  Other couples are pending, including one that I almost never see, but which I think I can make a case for in this story.  For the record, unless something drastic happens, no, Rogue and Kitty won't be a couple.  This chapter is almost entirely Utena characters.  Enjoy.

_There's a place from where I just arrived   
And I escaped, the last one alive.  
Where are you?  
You're not with me.  
Yeah, where are you?  
I'm free.  
You left me high and dry, it changed me.  
You lied to me, now I am angry.  
And if the sun comes in your room,  
and awakes you from your vanity,  
you won't find me cause I'll be   
on top a mountain_

_pissing on your grave…_

-Vast, "The Last One Alive"

            "The Sword of Alma.  That's certainly new," Miki said, resting his chin in his hands.  Anthy and Utena had collected him, as well as Juri and Saionji, when the fencing tournament let out, and they convened in the Rose Garden.  "If God were composed of soul and something else, what would that something else be?" 

            "Power?" Saionji suggested.  

            "Omnipresence and omnipotence, but Dios was not all powerful," Anthy murmured.  

            "Heart, mind, body and soul compose a human being," Juri added.  "Does God even have a soul?"

            "Apparently," Utena replied, standing by the greenhouse door and gazing out over the campus.  

            "I wish you would take my coat, Utena," Miki said.  "Or at least come away from the door."

            "I'm fine, Miki, I promise.  I ran into Kiryuu tonight," she added.  "He's been using Flandreau for something."

            Juri looked up.

            "Has he now?" she said coldly.  "Flandreau has been mentioned too many times this week for my liking."

            "Who else brought it up?"  Anthy asked.  

            "One of my freshmen," Juri replied.  "One of the gifted ones by whom Touga is so intrigued.  Her name is Katherine Pryde."

            "Kitty," Utena said.  

            "That's her nickname.  Do you know her?" Juri asked.  But Utena was already out the door.  When she saw what had startled Utena, Juri was right behind her.

            Kitty's feet clicked quickly on the flagstones as she crossed the campus.  She had already checked the history building; all the lights were out and Juri was not in her office.  In truth, that had been her only real idea, unless she really meant to swallow her fear and go visit the hall where Juri kept her private residence.

            "You're out awfully late, little one," a voice said.  Kitty froze where she stood, then turned to see who spoke.  He was very tall, in a black uniform trimmed in blood red, which matched the hair he had tied at this neck.

            "Just taking a walk," Kitty replied.  _If I were still a superhero, I would kick your ass, jerk._

            Touga smiled and took a few more steps into her personal space.

            "We're in the mountains, little girl.  There are wolves in the mountains, didn't you know that?"

            "I'm not afraid of wolves," Kitty said.  Touga laughed out loud.

            "Oh aren't you a brave child.  But it looks like some chivalrous soul is looking out for you."  He reached out and touched the lapel of the borrowed jacket Kitty wore.

            "That will do, Professor Kiryuu," a woman said.  

            Touga turned, and Kitty saw exactly who she'd hoped for.

            "Why hello Juri.  It would seem my young friend isn't the only one out past her bed time."

            "Miss Pryde, if you would, there are some people in the garden who would like to see you," Juri said.

            _Damn it, _Kitty thought, but obeyed.  Every time she got close to knowing what she was facing, she got rescued.  Kitty wasn't used to being rescued, she didn't like being rescued, especially from some oversexed teacher.  

            "Kitty," another voice said.  Utena.  "Come on inside."

            "What about Professor Arisugawa?" Kitty asked, staring back over her shoulder.

            "I'd worry more about Professor Kiryuu," Utena answered, hurrying Kitty inside the greenhouse.

            "A child out late at night, in Tenjou's jacket, with you playing guardian angel.  What a very lucky girl," Touga smiled.  

            "Keep away from my students," Juri replied.  "They don't need to know anything you intend to teach them."

            "I'm an English teacher, Juri-san, I just want to show every Ohtori student a little poetry before they leave.  History is so cold, wouldn't you agree?"

            "History is what happened, Touga.  Perhaps you recall the axiom that those who don't learn it are doomed to repeat it."

            "I won't repeat Tenjou's mistakes, or Akio's," Touga replied.  "History is written by the winners, and Tenjou's version is entirely biased.  She squandered the power to revolutionize the world.  She wasted it, Juri."

            "I disagree."

            Touga laughed and reached into his jacket, pulling out a thin silver chain, which broke with a gentle tug.  The chain fell to the ground, and Touga was left holding a silver ring.  He slid it onto the third finger of his left hand.

            "Don't look so surprised," Touga said, though Juri's expression had not shifted.  "I'd be more than willing to bet that yours is resting in your cleavage next to your locket.  Arisugawa Juri, I challenge you to a duel.  I will await you in the dueling forest tomorrow at sunset."

            Juri's eyebrow arched in skepticism.

            "With what sword, Kiryuu Touga?"

            "I think it is high time you met the _new_ Rose Bride."

            Juri scowled as Touga walked away, and reached into her shirt.  She pulled out two chains, one gold and one silver.  At the end of the gold chain was a locket; she opened it and gazed for a moment at the two pictures inside.  She clicked it shut, then unfastened the silver chain and slid the ring off, regarded it for a moment, and then put the ring on her finger.

            "Here we go again," she sighed, and turned to return to the garden.

            "Do you want your jacket back?" Kitty asked Utena.

            "I'll get it back from you when we bring you home," Utena said quietly, trying to see out the door.  

            "Come sit down, Miss Pryde," Miki said, standing and pulling out a chair for her at the table.  Kitty sat down and he gently pushed the chair closer to the table.  

            "Is Professor Arisugawa all right?" Kitty asked.  The door to the garden shut, and she heard a sigh.

            "I told you to call me Juri-san outside of class, Miss Pryde," Juri said in a weary voice.  Utena grabbed Juri's arm and held her hand up, staring at it.

            "Why are you wearing that?" Utena asked.

            "Touga challenged me to a duel tomorrow," Juri said, leaning back against the glass wall of the greenhouse.  

            "He can't," Saionji said, standing up.

            "And yet, he has," Juri replied, gently pulling her arm out of Utena's grip.  "He says that there's a new Rose Bride."

            "Well, Utena won't participate, I forbid it," Anthy said.  

            "You're so cute when you're all pushy," Utena said with a wry smirk.  Anthy gave Utena a suggestive glance over the rim of her teacup that made Kitty's jaw drop.

            "I don't think he meant you, Utena," Juri said, moving from the wall to resume her seat at the table.  Saionji sat down as well, his frustration apparent.

            "He meant Rogue," Kitty spoke up in a quiet voice.

            "Who?" Anthy asked, setting down her teacup.  Kitty found herself meek and shy under the dark green gaze of the chairwoman.  Anthy smiled kindly, but there was something hard in here eyes that Kitty recognized: the sense of dire urgency.  "Kitty, start from the beginning, and tell us what you know."

            Kitty related the story- Jean and Scott's odd behavior, Rogue's alleged name change, finding Rogue in Flandreau Hall, Professor Kiryuu's visit, Rogue's apparent survival in spite of not having eaten in a year.  She told Anthy what Rogue had told her, about being stabbed by a broken sword.  

            "And I found these piled up, Professor Kiryuu brought one tonight."

            Each of the council members took a letter and opened it.  They all said the same thing.

            _Rose of the noble castle, you are home to a power not your own.  Come forth and face your destiny._

            "I'll kill him," Saionji said, crumbling the letter he held.  

            "We can't be roped into this again," Miki said.  "We can't be a party to this madness."

            "If they don't duel with us, Miki, they will duel with each other," Juri said.  "I shudder to think what manner of revolution Professor Kiryuu would bring about."  

            "I'll go with you," Utena said.  "I have the other half of the sword, I'll be your bride."

            "I'll fight with my own sword, Utena," Juri said.  

            "Touga is _never_ to know that you carry the Sword of Alma, Utena," Anthy said.  "If he did, then you would be every bit as much an object as I was."

            "But what about Juri-"

            "Have a little faith, Utena," Saionji said.  "Arisugawa has never been unable to look after herself."

            "What should I do about Rogue, Juri-san?" Kitty asked.  

            "She's your friend, isn't she?" Juri asked sternly.  "Treat her how you'd treat any friend who's sick and sad.  We'll move her to a different building tomorrow to keep her safe once I've defeated Touga."

            "If you win," Saionji said, worry clouding his face.  Juri's face hardened into an imperious marble mask.

            "When I win.  Kiryuu Touga never devoted himself to the art the way you or I did, Saionji, or the way Miki did.  His challenge was poorly thought out."

            "Well I'm glad _someone's_ not worried," Kitty said.  "I should get back.  Lily's probably worried, and I don't want to leave Rogue by herself for much longer."

            "Then I'll take you home," Utena said.  "Juri, you should warm up, practice, something.  Do you want to spar later?"

            "I would prefer if you came home with me, Utena," Anthy interjected.  

            "But-"

            "It's not safe, Utena," Miki said.  "Touga never lets on what he does and doesn't know.  If he's got one half of the sword…"

            "Kitty, Utena, we should go," Anthy said, standing.  Utena crossed her arms and glowered as Kitty stood and joined them.

            "Yeah yeah," Utena grumbled as Anthy coaxed her out the door.  "Just because I've got a sword doesn't mean I'm going to let you all treat me like the helpless flower."  

            "Arisugawa, if you want to spar with someone, I'll volunteer," Saionji said as the door shut.

            "Thank you, Saionji, but Miki will help me," Juri replied, stretching her shoulders.  Miki looked uncomfortable, and Saionji smiled calmly.  

            "Not to be contrary, Arisugawa, but Touga is a kendo fighter, and I know his style better than anyone."

            "Saionji's right, Juri," Miki said meekly.  "I still only beat you once a month at most.  I wouldn't be much of a warm up."

            Juri's voice sounded vaguely conflicted, but her face was composed.

            "You're right of course," she said.  "Where shall we go?"

            "The kendo dojo would probably be best," he answered.  "Do you need to collect your sword?"

            "I do," Juri replied, lowering her arms and relaxing out of her stretch.  

            "Shall we?" Miki said, rising.

            The three remaining board members put their chairs back under the table, turned out the lights, and left the garden.

            "Thanks for walking me home, and letting me steal you jacket," Kitty said at her door, handing the coat back to Utena.

            "Don't worry about it," Utena said.  "I just can't believe this is all happening again."

            "I was the Rose Bride for a very, very long time," Anthy explained to Kitty.  "We have some very trying and complicated days ahead of us."

            "Good night, Kitty," Utena said.  

            "Take care," Anthy added.

            The two waited for Kitty to close her door and lock it, then walked off together.  Anthy slipped her arm into Utena's and reached up with her free hand to brush a lock of hair out of Utena's eyes.

            "You're not the Rose Bride, Utena.  No one could ever make you as empty as I was."

            "Touga has.  Akio has."

            "Touga and Akio both tried to make you lose yourself, and you fought them both with tooth and nail to make sure you didn't.  Everyone has a sword inside them, Utena.  You've dueled challengers who wielded Touga's, Saionji's, Juri's, Miki's, Ruka's, everyone's.  There's still a sword in me.  The only difference is that at the moment your sword is not your own."

            Utena looked away as they left the Hall, and Anthy stopped.

            "Utena?"

            "Yeah?" the other girl said in a low voice, trying to hold back tears.

            "Please don't fret, love," Anthy said.  Utena looked up at her with glassed over eyes.  Anthy rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly.

            "I'm sorry," Utena whispered.  "I'm not much of a Prince, am I?"

            "Princes also need rescuing sometimes," Anthy said.  "And you've done so much for us, far too much for us to ever let someone break your noble spirit."

            Anthy craned her neck and kissed Utena's cheek.

            "Shall we go home?" Anthy said.  Utena nodded, and the two walked off, arm in arm.

            "I've never seen your apartment before," Saionji said as he stood in the doorway of Juri's quarters.  

            "Come in and sit down," she called briskly from the other room.  "I'm going to change first."  

            Saionji walked in and shut the door behind him, then draped himself in one of Juri's armchairs.  The whole room was decorated in rich fabrics, Indian and Asian silks, but the walls were pure white, the windows hung with white, gauzy organza.  It was very clean, pristine, but for Juri, quite soft, Saionji thought.  

            "This place is not how I imagined it," he said.  

            "Do you frequently imagine my apartment?" Juri called frostily.  Saionji smirked.  Frosty, frosty Juri.  The beautiful panther, even now.  

            "Save it for sparring Juri," he replied.  She emerged with her sword in one hand and a bottle of spring water in the other, dressed in knit pants, a white t-shirt and a grey hooded sweatshirt.

            "I didn't know Christian Dior made sweat suits," Saionji said.  

            "Save it for sparring, Saionji," she replied.  He glanced at the sword she held, the same one she'd used when trying to disprove the power of miracles.  It had clearly been well oiled and cared for diligently.  

            _Some common ground, _Saionji thought.  _A mutual respect for the tools of our trade.  _

            "Shall we?" he asked, rising.  

            "Do you need to pick up anything?" she asked.  

            "I keep everything I need at the dojo," he replied, opening the door.  There was an awkward pause as he waited for Juri to exit first, and she waited for him to do the same.  

            "After you," he prompted finally.  Juri complied, locking the door once he had pulled it shut.  They walked in silence out of the hall, out into the night air.  

            "You've taken good care of your sword," Saionji said at last.

            "I've failed it from time to time, but it's never failed me," she replied.  Then, as an after thought, "Thank you."

            "I'd expect nothing less," he replied, putting his hands in his pockets.  "What do you think of this campus?  Now that you've had a few years to get used to it."

            "It's almost identical to the one we went to.  It's uncanny," Juri said.  "I like the mountains, but the winters are so cold…"

            The two were blasted by an arctic cold wind, as if winter wanted to make its presence known, even in mid-September.  The more warmly dressed of the two, Saionji moved to stand face to face with Juri, blocking the wind.  His hair, long mossy waves, whipped in front of him, and he remained there until the wind died down again.  

            "Perhaps we shouldn't talk about the weather," Juri said.  Her hair had unwound itself from its usual tight curls into a halo of tangerine wisps, and the wind had burned color onto her cheeks.

            "Perhaps not," Saionji replied.  He unbuttoned his uniform jacket and held it out to Juri.  

            "There's no need for that," she said, drawing herself up to her full height, which was still quite a bit shorter than Saionji.  He narrowed his eyes.

            "You have a duel tomorrow night, Arisugawa, against a formidable opponent.  Letting yourself freeze is an invitation to injury.  Now take the damned coat."

            Juri scowled, and he did not really expect her to obey, but she did, pulling on one arm, then the other.  The sleeves were far too long for her, and the jacket made her seem quite small.  Once Saionji was satisfied that she wouldn't be frostbitten, they continued on.  

            "If you're challenged, will you fight?" Juri asked as they approached the dojo.  Saionji sighed.

            "In high school, I fought because I was in love with Himemiya.  Or I thought I was.  In retrospect, my cruelty to her makes me doubt that it was ever really love.  To spare another similar cruelty, perhaps I would."

            They stepped into the doorway and removed their shoes, then Saionji slid open the thin doors of paper that led to the dojo itself.  

            "I'll just be a moment," Saionji said, stepping behind another paper shade to change into his kendo uniform.  Juri removed her sweatshirt and continued stretching.   

            "Why did you accept Touga's challenge, Arisugawa?" Saionji asked.  She glanced at his shadow against the screen as he removed his clothes and thought about the question.  

            "That miracles exist has been proven to me," she began pensively, picking up her sword and practicing thrusts.  Saionji listened to the blade cut through the air as Juri danced the saber.  Her motions were balletic and violent, and once Saionji had dressed, he emerged to watch her.  She instantly faltered, halting in midmaneuver and becoming a statue once more.

            "Why did you accept Touga's challenge, Arisugawa?" he asked again.

            "I dislike him," Juri said.

            "Is that the whole reason?" Saionji said, stretching himself in the black gi and loose pants that were the kendo uniform.  Juri regarded him momentarily.

            "I dislike his desire to begin another cycle of lies and brutality, just to put great power in the hands of cruel innocents."

            "You're answering too carefully," Saionji said, putting his hands on his hips.  "At the moment that he asked you, what instinct drove you to say yes?"

            "I told you."

            "'I dislike his desire to begin another cycle,' blah blah blah," Saionji replied, crossing his arms across his chest.  "No one's thoughts are so precise, Arisugawa, not even yours."

            He leaned down and picked up his katana, drawing the blade slowly from the scabbard.

            "Dishonesty doesn't look good on you, Arisugawa Juri," Saionji said.  "But if you won't be truthful with me, then let's begin."

            Juri's body snapped into attention, and she raised her sword in salute.  It bisected her face, two blue eyes on either side of one sharp blade.  Saionji struck out at her and the battles began.  

            At first, he tried to fight as much like he remembered Touga fighting as possible, but it had been a long time since the English professor had come by for a bout.  Saionji accepted these little challenges when Touga came by, as a courtesy to a fellow kendo fighter, and as a matter of honor.  Touga had not defeated Saionji since after the world ended and began again, back in high school.  It was as if without something to duel towards Touga's fighting atrophied. 

            But the duels were back.  Saionji fell out of Touga's style and into his own, and the spar intensified.   

            "Guard up, Juri!" Saionji roared as he pressed his attack.

            "No instruction!" she shouted back, parrying with too much force and completely losing her balance.  She pitched forward, unable to catch herself, and would have impaled herself on the katana had Saionji not hurled it away.  She landed on her hands and knees on the floor.

            "What was _that?!_" Saionji yelled, throwing his hands in the air.  "Is that your plan, you'll wave your sword around for a while and maybe he'll trip?"

            Juri sat back on her feet and regarded him coldly.

            "I do not need any instruction from you, Saionji Kyoichi," she answered, her forehead shining with perspiration.

            "Clearly you do!" he snapped.  "Do you really think that you can defeat Touga like that?  _Why did you agree to duel?"_

            "He disgusts me," Juri hissed.  

            "What?" Saionji said.  He realized that she was not looking at him coldly, but with a white hot flame of hatred in her eyes.

            "He disgusts me.  He thinks he knows better than _me.  _The way he thinks that his judgment is better than Himemiya's, than Tenjou's, than yours or mine, disgusts me.  I want to drive him into the dirt for defying us this way."

            "Keep going," Saionji said, walking across the room to pick up his katana.  Juri reached out and curled her hand around the hilt of her sword.

            "I wasted so much time trying to disprove miracles, when I should have been being young.  How many years were we there, none of us is really sure.  How many years were we trapped before Tenjou broke us free with her blind, foolish hope?" 

            She stood up.

            "It makes me sick, that he thinks he's so much smarter than the rest of us, thinks he's going to make everything so much better.  I can see his smarmy face when I shut my eyes, that arrogant bastard.  I want to see him suffer.  I want him to know that whatever revolution it is he thinks would be best for us, I won't ever let him have it."

            She looked up to see Saionji standing quietly at his starting point, waiting.

            "Ready?" he asked.

            "Yes," Juri replied.  

            By the time the sparring was over, Juri could have killed him six or seven times, easily.  Her control, with her disgust fuelling it instead of distracting her from it, drove every point home and halted it inches from his heart, his throat, his eye, his stomach, until they both sat down against the wall, gasping for breath.

            "That was the Arisugawa I remember.  Well done," Saionji said, once the burning had left his lungs.  

            "Thank you," Juri replied, opening her water bottle and taking a long sip.  She swallowed, then offered the bottle to Saionji without thinking, and he accepted it in the same way.  He picked up the top from the floor and capped the bottle.

            "Do you think you would have an advantage if you used my sword?" he asked.

            "What's wrong with mine?" she asked.

            "That's not what I meant," he said.  "I mean… _my _sword.  You could have killed me several times, Arisugawa.  Perhaps if I were your bride for this fight, it would keep your rage and disgust with Kiryuu fresh."

            Juri seemed to consider this for a moment.  It was no small offer.  Saionji Kyoichi had never willingly played the bride for anyone.  

            "I appreciate your offer, Saionji," Juri answered finally.  "But I can't.  The sword inside you is without doubt a katana, for which I have no talent.  The girl Touga believes to be the Rose Bride is safe, and he will have no sword at all unless he thinks to bring one along.  He won't be drawing any swords from anyone, and hopefully that will be the end of this nonsense."

            Saionji was faintly disappointed.  This was a fight that he wanted to see, and he longed for Touga's humiliation as much as Juri did.  Moreover, he wanted to be a part of it.  But if Juri did not want a bride for this fight, Saionji had to respect her wish.

            "Do you really believe that one duel will end this?" Saionji asked her.  Juri's mouth twitched with a wry smirk, and she held out her left hand, looking at her duelist's ring.

            "It wouldn't be the first miracle we've seen, Saionji."


	4. 04

AN: Okay, this chapter is mostly Kitty.  Um… okay, yeah, I am planning on putting Juri and Saionji together, if I can reasonably justify it in the plot.  I have all the subtlety of a leg of lamb to the side of the skull.  Anyway.  Here goes nothin'.  

_War, children, it's just a shot away   
It's just a shot away   
War, children, it's just a shot away   
It's just a shot away   
_-The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter"

            Kitty slid the last of her books into her bag and straightened her uniform.

            "There's food in the minifridge," she said.  "I'd smell anything in a tupperware container before I tried to eat it if I were you.  Morning classes let out around twelve thirty, we'll bring you some lunch.  Don't answer the door for anyone."

            Rogue shivered.  

            "You don't have to tell me," she said.  She was wearing Lily's clothes, sweatpants and a knit shirt, as she and Lily were about the same height.  Her hair was far longer than she'd remembered, and she wasn't sure what to do with it yet, so she'd let Kitty braid it and pin it to the top of her head.  

            "There, you look like Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's," Kitty had said when she was done.  

            "I never saw that movie," Rogue had replied.  

Kitty and Lily stood at the door with bags in hand.

"Professor Arisugawa is going to come by tonight, and they're going to give you a room someplace safe.  Maybe you'll even be able to start classes again."

"Any requests for lunch?" Lily asked.  Rogue smiled.

"It feels like forever since I've had a coke," she said.

_Well, _thought Kitty as she sat in Math, _I'll never be able to skip math or history again.  _Indeed, as he taught, Professor Kaoru occasionally gave her a reassuring glance that went unnoticed by the rest of the class, she hoped.  The last thing she needed was to be branded a teacher's pet in the hardest class she had.  

While she tried to concentrate, she still wondered what Touga Kiryuu had promised Professor Xavier to make him allow this sort of thing to happen to Rogue.  He must've noticed the distress she was in, he must've sensed the changes in Scott and Jean.  In her experience, however, Xavier, Scott and Jean operated as a single unit.  The disputes they'd had in the beginning had faded to minor personal disagreements as time went on.  By the time Scott and Jean had left for Ohtori, the three of them almost never disagreed about anything.  

She looked up at the blackboard, where Professor Kaoru had just written a complex formula.  He got distracted and ran his hand through his hair before dusting them off, and left a white streak in his deep blue locks.  Kitty cleared her throat, and he looked up at her.  She gestured to her own hair, and he got the message, dusting off his hands and then shaking his hair.  Kitty suppressed a laugh.  She couldn't imagine that Miki Kaoru could possibly cause anyone the kind of suffering that Jean, Scott and Touga had caused Rogue.  

The clock tower rang out the hour and Miki sighed.

"Well, looks like I'm out of time," he said.  "Don't forget the homework."

Kitty got up and stretched.  Miki's class ran from nine to ten fifteen, she had fifteen minutes to get to science, then an hour and fifteen minutes of science.  Fifteen minutes to get to lunch, where she would meet up with Lily, and then back to the room to bring Rogue food and check up on her.  At two classes resumed; Kitty and Lily would go to English together, then phys ed at quarter of four.  The two then split up again, Lily going to her math class, Kitty to history, and then dinner.  

Science was her least favorite class, by far.  Unlike her charming and vibrant math teacher or her cool, collected and precise history teacher, her science teacher was a doddering scatterbrain and an incredible bore.  She spent this class staring out the window, watching the sun in the sky.  Anthy and Utena had told her that the duel would be at sunset.  It was only September, but the sun seemed to set so early there in the mountains.  When the bell rang she was out the door in seconds, meeting Lily outside the cafeteria.  They had to wait a while in line, but then gathered as much food as they could carry and scampered back to Marlowe Hall.

"Something's wrong," Kitty said as soon as they approached the building.

"What?" Lily asked, but Kitty had already dropped the paper bag she was holding and run through the door of Marlowe.  She tore up the stairs, dodging some students, phasing through others, until she reached the third floor.

The door was locked when she reached for the knob, and she felt a moment's relief.  She dug out her key and unlocked the door.

The sleeping bag had been rolled up and placed in the corner.  Lily's clothes had been neatly folded and placed on the bottom bunk.  Leaning against the mirror was a white envelope sealed with blood red wax.  Kitty snatched it up and tore it open as Lily made it up stairs and appeared in the doorway.

"Why'd you tear off like that?  Where's Rogue?"  Lily panted.  Kitty said nothing, reading the letter again and again.

_No one keeps the bride who does not duel for her.  Wear the ring, wield the sword, and perhaps you shall revolutionize the world._

"Bastard!" Kitty spat, crumbling the letter and hurling across the room.  Lily picked it up and read it.

"What the hell does this mean?" Lily asked.  "Is Rogue the bride?"

"Yes," Kitty said, sitting dejectedly on Lily's bed.

"Whose?"

"I don't know.  I'm gonna try and find her.  Tell Professor Wilder and Coach Drexel that I'm sick or something."

"What if they see you?" Lily asked.

"Then I'll be in trouble," Kitty replied.  "I'll see you later."

She was out the door before Lily could protest further.  

            She should tell Juri.  She should tell Utena.  She should tell Anthy.  She should find Jean and Scott and murder both of them.  She should find Professor Kiryuu and murder him first.

            Anthy lived in the Chairman's mansion, and Kitty strongly suspected that Utena lived with her.  Miki, Juri and Saionji each had almost an entire floor of Byron Hall to themselves, a distinct advantage to being a member of the board.  She wasn't sure how many classes per day Miki and Juri taught, or what duties being Ohtori's official archivist entailed or where Saionji might carry them out.  The library?  Someplace else?

            Byron still seemed the best place to start.  She tapped on the door timidly at first, then more loudly, but no one answered.  She pressed the buzzer for each of them, and no one answered.  When she went to the Chairwoman's mansion, she got the same result.  No one, no where, no answer.  

            Kitty continued her run around the campus, but Ohtori was a big place, with many buildings.  She didn't know where Juri and Miki taught their other classes.  She wound up by the rose garden, tired and panting, the sun halfway to the horizon and the clock tower chiming out four o'clock. 

            _History! _ Kitty thought, getting up and running back towards Marlowe.  _Professor Arisugawa will be at history, I can catch her then._

            Back in her room, Kitty grabbed the crumpled letter and smoothed it out, folding it in her history book, putting that into her book bag.  Her uniform was rumpled and drenched in sweat from her marathon around the campus, and she needed to calm down.  She stripped and got into the shower.  Four fifteen.  History didn't start until five thirty, the latest class of the day.  Kitty stood under the hot stream of water and washed away her sweat, trying to wash her fear away with it.  The knot in her stomach would not come undone.  She shut the shower off and dressed in a fresh uniform, dumping the wrinkled one into the hamper.  Quarter of five.  She sighed and climbed up the ladder to her bed, to lie down and try to calm her thoughts.  As she lay her head on the pillow, however, her head hit something hard.  She sat up, and something shiny tumbled of the pillow onto the mattress.  She picked it up and held it into the light.

_            Wear the ring, wield the sword, and perhaps you will revolutionize the world._

            It was a silver ring inlaid with a blood-red glass rose, not unlike the one Juri had worn, but the rose in Juri's had been a blush pink, paler than the one Kitty held.  Kitty slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

            "Guess I'm gonna find out for sure whether or not fencing's my thing," she murmured, then leapt off the bed, grabbed her book bag, and ran out.  She had to catch Juri before history.  Maybe she got to class early, Juri was always there when Kitty arrived, though Kitty frequently arrived with only seconds to spare.  

            The sun was low in the sky as Kitty tore across campus once more, her muscles and lungs burning.  She hadn't had this kind of a work out since she left the X-Men.  She crashed through the doors of the building in which her history class was held. 

            _To History, A Class, five-thirty:_

_                        I regret that I will be unable to attend class this evening (Friday).  Please read pages 345-360 in your text book The History of Japan for Monday.  _

_                                    -Arisugawa Juri_

            "Damn it!" Kitty shouted, not caring who heard her.

            "I'm sure Arisugawa would be flattered that someone's so upset about the cancellation," a dry voice said behind her.  Kitty spun around, ready to spit venomous words, and saw Saionji.

            "Oh, it's you," he said when she turned around.  "Kitty, is it?"

            "You have to help me," she said.  "Rogue is gone."

            "What?" Saionji said, his eyes instantly narrowing.  Kitty scrambled in her bag and handed him the letter she'd found, but instead of reaching for it, he grabbed her wrist, much as Utena had grabbed Juri's.  "Where did you get this?" he snarled.  She glared at him and phased right out of his hand.  

            "It was on my pillow.  From what the letter, which is incidentally what I was trying to give you, says, I won't be able to get Rogue back without it," Kitty snapped back.  _I couldn't find Professor Kaoru or Utena, oh no, I have to find Oscar the Grouch, _she thought crossly.  "Where's Juri-san?"

            A look of horror crossed Saionji's face.

            "She's already in the dueling forest," he said, turning white.  "The sun's going down.  She's not ready for this."

            He tore open the collar of his jacket and grabbed something at his throat, starting to run as a thin chain fell to the ground.

            "Hey!  Where are you going?!" Kitty shouted, running after him.  He glanced back briefly.

            "If you want to help you'd better keep up," he growled, jamming a ring onto his hand.

            Juri walked up the stone steps, a thin and impossible spiral up to the flat plain of the dueling grounds.  She glanced down from whence she'd come, far back on the ground, and swallowed hard.  She did not like being here again.  She had never technically been at this arena, but it might as well have been transplanted from the Tokyo Ohtori.  _Maybe it was, _thought Juri.  _Maybe Akio came along and planted a seed which grew into stones and water.  _

            She reached the platform, and Touga was waiting, katana in hand.

            "Where's your Bride?" Juri said coolly.  Touga smirked and stepped to one side.  Sitting there, tied to a chair, with a black satin gag in her mouth, was a girl in a silver tiara, wearing a green sleeveless gown with violet tassels at the shoulders.  Anthy had always looked fairly placid at best, blank at worst.  This girl looked angry and afraid.

            "She's not quite so compliant as Himemiya was," Touga said.  "But my victory over you will complete the transition, I think."

            Juri stood shocked.  The Rose Bride.  Touga smiled smugly.

            "Where are my manners?  Maigo, this is Arisugawa Juri, Vice President of Academic Affairs.  Arisugawa, this is Maigo, the Rose Bride."  

            The girl's eyes had burned with hatred when Touga uttered the name "Maigo."  Juri could see why, the word was a bitter joke.  Maigo was a Japanese word meaning lost child.  It was not a name one would appreciate.

            "I'm afraid you'll have to install your own rose, Juri, since our Rose Bride hasn't quite learned the ropes," Touga said, tossing an orange rose to Juri, who caught it and stuck it in the breast pocket of her jacket.  Touga continued.  "The winner decides the fate of the Rose Bride.  If you win, then who knows, perhaps the duels will end.  If I win, then the duels for control of her will commence."

            "Then you shouldn't be dueling me, Touga, you should have challenged Tenjou, or Himemiya-" Juri protested.

            "This is not a duel of spiritual prowess, Arisugawa, this is a duel of the sword."

            "Then you should have challenged Saionji."

            "But I didn't.  I challenged you.  You can forfeit if you're afraid."

            _You disgust me, _she thought, and raised her sword.  

            The duel began.

            Saionji ran as hard as he could towards the dueling forest.

            _She's not ready.  She's going to trip up.  She won't be able to focus.  She'll get hurt.  She'll get killed.  She'll blame herself if she loses.  What if this isn't just dueling for roses?  What if Touga kills her?  He can't, he won't, it would be just like him.  _

            Kitty was hot on his heels through the woods, following him right up to the stone gates.  He yanked on the handle, and water started to flow across the stone.  The gates turned into a giant concrete rose.  

            "No gawking, come on!" Saionji shouted as Kitty paused to catch her breath and do just that.  She sighed and charged after him, into a glass elevator which strobed into light and darkness as it passed level after level.  The two of them scrambled out of the elevator and out onto the dueling floor.  

            There was a chair surrounded by short lengths of cut rope, a piece of black silk on the seat.

            There was a scattering of orange petals.

            There was Juri.  

            Kitty stood shocked by the elevator door as she stared up at the castle hanging above them.

            "What _is _that?"

            "It's a trick of the light," Saionji snapped.  "Now get over here and help me."

            Juri was kneeling on the ground, leaning back a bit on Saionji's arm.  As Kitty approached, she saw that Juri had been cut up.  There was a scratch on her face which was bleeding, a shallow cut across her chest, a deeper one in her shoulder.

            "He got the worst of it… but he got the rose," Juri breathed heavily.  "I'm so sorry Saionji.  I should have listened, I wasn't ready…"

            "Stop talking," Saionji growled.  "You're hurt, you idiot."

            "Should've cut his throat…"

            "Where's Rogue?" Kitty asked.  Juri rolled her head to look at her.

            "With Touga.  Down the stairs."

            As Saionji picked up Juri, Kitty ran towards the spiral staircase, shut her eyes, and began to fall through the layers of stone.  She sped up every time she hit air, slowed every time she hit stone, and then sunk through the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

            "I won," she heard Touga say, a one sided conversation as if into a phone.  "She's compliant now.  We can commence.  The first duel will be between you and Kanae."

            Kitty rose out of the floor in front of them, looking extremely angry.

            "Get the _hell _away from her!" she shrieked.  

            "Kozue, I'll have to call you back," he said, and hung up his cell phone.  "Hello there little Kitty.  That is your name, isn't it?"

            "How _dare _you break into my room?"

            "You're too late, Kitty," Touga said.  "Juri lost, and so Maigo is now the Rose Bride."

            "_Stop calling her that!  Her name is Rogue!_" Kitty screamed, shoving him.  He grabbed her hand.

            "She doesn't have a name.  She said so herself.  And if you want her back, you're half-way there, Kitty," he said.  

            "What the hell are you talking about?  Rogue, run!" she shouted.  Touga threw his head back and laughed.  Rogue just stood there, her eyes flat, as though she'd never heard a word Kitty said.  

            "You're wearing my ring," Touga said, once he'd composed himself.  "All you need now is a sword and the courage to challenge the victor."

            He let go of her hand and she fell backwards, landing in an awkward sitting position.  

            "Who's the victor?" Kitty spat.  "You?"

            "Silly girl.  The victor won't be decided till Kozue and Kanae duel.  I'm just the End of the World," he smiled.  He stepped over her and headed towards the gate.  "Come, Maigo."

            Rogue, or Maigo, as she was now apparently called, leaned down and gently touched Kitty's face with her bare hand.  Kitty's mouth opened in shock as nothing happened.

            "Cheer up, Kitty," Maigo said smiling vacantly, and followed Touga out of the arena.  

  



	5. 05

AN: This chapter just kept going on and on, so I just sort of cut it off before it got too much more out of hand.  Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing, and especially those who are bearing with me in spite of the Saionji/Juri thing.  Trust me, I find it as weird as you do, and I didn't plan it- sometimes these things just happen.  

_I'm wrapped up in the warmth of an unforgiving game,  
I'm on vacation in the land of shame.  
When the pigs are flying,  
And it's freezing cold in hell,  
Maybe we'll forgive the children, baby,  
Only time can tell...   
-Vast, "Land of Shame"_

Kitty came back up in the elevator, and Saionji stepped in holding Juri, who weakly handed Kitty her sword.

            "I'm going to kill that guy," Kitty growled.  

            "Is he gone?" Saionji asked.  Juri's head was nodding, she seemed about to go to sleep.  "Stay awake Juri!"

            Juri's head snapped up.

            "Are you okay?" Kitty asked.  Saionji looked grim.

            "She's lost a fair amount of blood, I'll take her to the infirmary."

            "No you won't," Juri said.  

            "Don't be stupid," Saionji growled at her.  

            "I'm not going to that infirmary," she said.  

            "You haven't got any say.  So shut up."

            "I'm not-"

            "One more word and I'll drop you," Saionji snapped.  

            "Go right ahead!" 

            They reached the bottom floor and the elevator opened.  As Saionji stepped out, arguing with Juri the whole way, something metal clattered to the floor.

            "Grab that, would you?" Saionji said to Kitty.  She leaned down and scooped up the gold locket, which had fallen open.  On the left, there was a thin faced young man with indigo hair that Kitty didn't recognize.  He was laughing, and looked very happy.  On the other side… Kitty glanced up sharply.

            _Saionji?_

            Juri shot her a look, and Kitty snapped the locket shut, following.

            "Congratulations, Touga-san," Kozue said, draping herself over his shoulders as she dabbed his wounds.  There was a scratch on his face, several cuts on his arms and torso, and one cut which, had it been just a little deeper, which would have pierced his jugular vein.  "Looks like Juri was going for the kill."

            "If she'd put as much effort into trying to cut off the rose as she did into trying to kill me, she might've won.  But her hatred of me clouded her precision.  And now we have a new addition to our happy home."

            All eyes turned to the girl in the standard uniform, her hair braided and pinned to her head.

            "You may ask any questions now, Maigo."

            Maigo, who supposed she must respond to that name if that was all they intended to call her, looked up.

            "Why did you choose me?" she asked.  Jean smiled and answered.

            "You were an empty thing to begin with, Maigo," she said.  "Your gift was to fill the void inside you with the power of others.  What better sheath for the sword of Dios?"

            Maigo seemed to accept this answer, though she made no reply.

            "Kozue and Kanae will duel at noon tomorrow to determine who will be engaged.  Jean will challenge the victor, and Scott the victor after that."

            "What if someone from the outside challenges us?" Scott asked.

            Touga smiled.

            "They very likely will," he said.  "I've already given Kitty Pryde a ring.  The old duelists still qualify.  Perhaps Utena herself will come to call.  We'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?"

            "There's no reason for me to be here," Juri said, her arms crossed in her infirmary bed.  

            "Be quiet," Saionji said crossly.  "You have holes in you where there shouldn't be any."

            "Touga isn't here."

            "Good.  Maybe he'll get gangrene."

            Juri smiled at this, but then remembered how irritated she was.

            "It was very gallant of you to carry me to the infirmary Saionji, but don't you have someplace else to be?"

            "No."

            "Don't you have someplace you'd _rather _be?"

            "No."

            Juri sighed crossly and began to get up.

            "Get back down," Saionji growled at her.  

            "I've had enough of your macho posturing, Saionji, and my irritation is defeating my gratitude in spades at the moment," she replied, standing up and going behind the curtain where her clothes had been left.

            "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Saionji said, standing up himself.

            "I'm going home, to my own bed, to have a hot bath, and to practice so that the next time I challenge Touga Kiryuu I won't miss his rose or his throat."

            "But your cuts-"

            "Have been stitched up," she snipped.  "No more holes where there oughtn't be holes."

            She emerged from behind the screen, her sword in her hand.

            "I am going home.  You may walk with me back to Byron Hall if you like, but if you get in my way I'm going to have to kill you."

            Saionji made a face and moved to put her back in the infirmary bed, only to find the point of her sword, still stained with Touga's blood, leveled at his eye.

            "You have made me repeat myself far too many times today, Saionji.  I will not do so again.  I have not had a particularly good day.  Now are you coming with me or not?"

            Saionji threw his hands into the air, shoved them into his pockets, and stalked after her.  

            "Stubborn bitch," he muttered.

            "I heard that, you overbearing fool," she retorted.  The nurse tried to protest their exit, beseeching Saionji to reason with Juri when the latter just swept past her.

            "Mister Saionji sir, please talk to her, she's not well enough-"

            Saionji gazed at the nurse with a sour face.  

            "One cannot reason with the unreasonable," he said darkly, following after Juri.  He took a few longer steps to catch up with her.

            "At least rest," he snapped.  Juri ground her teeth and glared straight ahead.

            "I fought like the basest amateur, Saionji.  There is no excuse for that kind of failure.  I won't rest until I've undone the damage."

            "You're not going to do anyone any good by tearing your stitches apart," Saionji replied.  He'd been right, and she was blaming herself, and would drive herself to ruin rather than accept failure.  Saionji had lately come to dislike being right.  

            "Touga sent a ring to Kitty," he said after a moment.  Juri stopped and looked at him.  "It's not Akio's rose, though.  This one is red."

            Juri scowled.

            "So Touga really does fancy himself the End of the World?  Fine.  I'm not out of lessons yet."

            Saionji winced as she threw open the doors to Byron and stormed in like a wild fire up the stairs to the third floor.  He growled outwardly when he heard the door of her apartment slam.  

            "Hello?" another voice came at the door.  

            "Will it ever fucking end?" Saionji grumbled, turning.  "What?"

            He found himself face to face with Utena, a bunch of white daisies wrapped in green paper in her hand

            "Oh, it's you," he said.  She rolled her eyes as she reached his level.

            "Big fuzzy hugs to you too, sunshine.  Is Juri home?"

            "Up the stairs," he said.  "She's in an even better mood, so watch out."  

            Utena just smiled and shrugged and made her way up the stairs.  

            "And may I come in as well?" another voice said from the doorway.

            "Why the hell not, it's your damn campus!" Saionji shouted.  "Since when does anyone listen to me anyway, god knows that stubborn marmalade haired bitch upstairs won't listen to reason!"

            Anthy walked in and crossed her arms.

            "It's this kind of behavior that makes me wish I wasn't chairwoman."

            "It's this kind of behavior that makes me wish I were dead," Saionji replied.  "Or that I still had the energy to kill the rest of you."

            "Don't whine, Saionji.  Utena will smooth Juri's feathers, now invite me up for tea, we need to talk."  

            Saionji grudgingly walked up to the second floor, where he kept his quarters, and let Anthy inside, putting a kettle on for tea.

            "You'll have to settle for tea bags, I'm not in the mood for ceremony," he said.  Anthy had already folded her legs beneath her and sat on the floor at the low table.  

            "Are your feathers ruffled on Juri's behalf, Saionji?" Anthy asked, picking a tea bag and placing it in her cup.

            "No.  I am merely irritated at all the carrying on I've seen in the past hour," he said shortly, sitting down himself.  

            "Carrying on is not entirely inappropriate.  All hell has broken loose after all."

            "What do you want me to do about it?" 

            Anthy sighed, folding her hands on the table as though she were praying.  

            "Even if Juri becomes the victor, it won't end the duels.  We have to see this through to the end, now."

            "There's only one way to end it," Saionji sighed.  "And I don't know if I'm ready to go through that again."

            "Actually, there are two ways.  We can see the duels through to the end and bring the castle down once more, and risk falling prey to Touga's revolution, or Kozue's, or Kanae's, or anyone's."

            "Or?"  Saionji said.

            "Or we can kill the Rose Bride, put her out of her misery, and put a stop to this."

            Saionji looked at Anthy for a moment.

            "You're serious," he said.

            "I'm honest," she answered.  The kettle began to whistle, and she stood up to get it, returning to the table and pouring hot water into both her tea cup and Saionji's.  

            "How can you suggest that?  You of all people-"

            "Only if it comes to that, a very last resort," Anthy said evenly.  "She would be better off dead than trapped in a shell of herself."

            "Would you say the same if Touga had captured Utena instead?" Saionji said.  Anthy's fingers tightened on her tea cup.

            "You know very well that I wouldn't."

            "Then you're a hypocrite!" he snapped.  He shut his mouth as Anthy's eyes bored through him, green made sharper and harder by her glasses.

            "Yes.  I am a hypocrite, Saionji.  Anyone in love would be.  But I will do the same for this girl that I would do for Utena, short of laying down my life or my love's."

            "What does that mean?" 

            Anthy set down her tea cup.

            "Juri is injured, and will not win if she fights too soon, and may do herself permanent damage."

            "Go ahead and try telling _her _that, she won't listen to me, that's for damned sure."

            "She is ashamed, Saionji, of her failure.  Everything was hinging on that fight.  It's no kindness to her to pretend that it wasn't.  I will not allow Utena to take up any sword or set foot in the arena ever again.  I don't want to know what could happen if the Sword of Alma collided with whatever sword this new Rose Bride holds inside her.  I may take up a sword myself, but never Utena.  

            "I came to ask you to challenge the next victor, Saionji," Anthy said plainly, placing her hand on his.  "I am not ready, neither is Miki, and this child who knows the Rose Bride will not be ready to fight for some time.   You are all we have, and you are the strongest."

            Saionji was stunned, and when he opened his mouth to speak, he heard himself say,

            "I will do whatever you ask."

            His trance was broken when a sharp knock came on the door.

            "Hey, can we come in?" Utena called.  

            "It's open!" Saionji called back, desperate for someone else to be in the room.  To be alone with Anthy was agony for him, to be pinned down by those deep green eyes which had once looked at him blankly and with absolute obedience, to remember his cruelty towards the girl he thought he'd loved, and to see her indifference towards it.   Utena bounded in and pounced on Anthy, whose face lit up.

            "Hi!" Utena chirped, throwing her arms around Anthy's shoulders.

            "You're cheerful," Anthy said, withdrawing her hand from Saionji's.  

            "Well, I was trying to cheer up Juri and that didn't work, so I guess I just cheered up myself.  How about you Saionji, do you want to be cheered up too?"

            "Dear god no," Saionji replied, looking off at Juri.  "How are you?"

            "Fair," she replied flatly.  "Stiffer than I thought I'd be."  Her fingers twitched over her chest, and Saionji knew she must be feeling for her locket for reassurance.  

            "Saionji's agreed to challenge whatever victor turns up," Anthy said.  Juri's head snapped up.

            "No.  I will challenge the victor, Anthy, this is _my _fight!" she hissed.  

            "It's nothing of the sort and you know it," Anthy replied sharply, standing up.  "This is not some grudge match between you and Touga, and it is _not _about us.  Don't you understand?  This is about an enslaved child, not revolutionizing the world or teaching Touga Kiryuu his place.  You know better, Arisugawa."  

            Anthy's fists were clenched.  While no longer a doll, she was nonetheless fairly even tempered, and the tension in the room was palpable as the two stared each other down.

            "I apologize," Juri said tightly.  "Please excuse me."

            She walked swiftly out of the room, too swiftly to be anything but on the verge of tears.

            "So much for cheering her up," Utena sighed from her spot on the floor.

            "You didn't have to be so harsh, Himemiya," Saionji said.  Anthy looked at him with absolute indignation.

            "You're one to talk, you're cruel to her all the time!" she snapped.  "Utena, would you go after her?"

            Utena looked uneasy.

            "I think she's had enough of me today.  Five more minutes of Tenjou-psychology and she's liable to take a swing at me."

            Saionji got up.

            "Where are you going?" Anthy asked.

            "To talk to her."

            "I don't think-"

            "Drink your damned tea," he snapped, slamming the door.

            _Exactly what we need.  Himemiya losing patience, Juri losing face, Tenjou forbidden to fight, me trying to fix things and Touga thinking he's the End of the damned World.  This is not what I had planned for today._

            He stalked up the stairs to Juri's apartment and banged on the door.

            "Open up, Arisugawa."

            "Go away," a voice from inside replied.

            "No.  Open the door."

            Silence.

            "Don't be stubborn!"

            Silence.  Saionji was about to declare that he could wait all damned day for her to come out and that there was a fire axe ten feet away and maybe he'd just hack through the damned door, when he heard the soft clearing of a throat behind him.  Miki smiled meekly, then stepped past Saionji to knock softly on the door.

            "Juri?  It's Miki, may I come in?"

            The locks came undone, and the door opened partway.  As Miki slipped inside, Saionji caught a glimpse of Juri, not her face, just her hair, and the glint of the light off her locket in the open collar of her jacket.  The door shut and locked with an air of finality.

            Saionji sighed and slunk back down to his own apartment.

            "Any luck?" Utena asked.  She'd made herself comfortable while Anthy paced anxiously, sprawling next to the table and drinking tea.

            "Miki's in there.  He'll bring her around."

            "I'm sorry," Anthy said, stopping in mid-pace.  "I shouldn't have snapped at her, and I shouldn't have snapped at you for snapping at me about it."  

            She pushed her hands through her hair and heaved a frustrated sigh.

            "I am in charge, aren't I.  I do have to decide the course of action," she glanced at Utena.  "Are you certain we can't just go back to me calling you Utena-sama and doing everything you wanted before you knew you wanted it?"

            Utena made a face.

            "I'm positive," she answered.  "And you know you don't mean it anyway."

            "At the moment it seems preferable.  Fine.  We won't worry about Juri at the moment, if she's talking to Miki she'll be fine," Anthy said.  "Our primary concerns at the moment are the new Rose Bride, and her friend."

            "Kitty has a ring," Saionji said suddenly.  "I forgot till just now, but she does.  Touga gave it to her."

            "I expected as much," Anthy said, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose.  "And she took it of course, not realizing the implications, to try and save her friend."

            "Someone had better teach the brat to use a sword," Saionji said.  Utena and Anthy both turned to look at him.  "What?"

            "I've failed everyone," Juri said in a dead voice, her knees drawn close to her chest, arms around her legs.  "I don't understand what happened.  I should have beaten Touga easily.  I was perfectly focused the night before.  I don't understand what went wrong."

            Miki put his arm around her shoulders.

            "It's a temporary setback, Juri.  You weren't expecting the Rose Bride to be there."

            "That's no excuse," Juri said.  "He didn't use the Sword in her.  He didn't even draw it."

            "There's no undoing what's happened, Juri, we just have to see it through and fix it."

            Juri curled up tighter.

            "Come here," Miki said, tipping the Juri-ball into his arms.  "It'll be all right."

            "How can you even look at me?"

            "It will take much more than losing a duel to make me lose any respect for you, Juri," he said, holding his friend tightly.

            "I don't know how, Kitty, get over it."

            "Come on, this is important."

            "No.  I'll lose an eye."

            Kitty looked at her with giant puppy eyes.  

            "_Please?_"

            Lily snapped her book shut and looked down at Kitty from the top bunk.

            "Kitty.  That umbrella is not a sword, and your friend is clearly in the hands of insane people, and based on what you've told me I'm kinda afraid that the entire board is psychotic."

            "Weirder things have happened.  Do I have to put my hand through the wall again to prove it?"

            "Please don't."

            "Then pick up that broom and come on!"

            "Absolutely not.  Get one of your Highlander teachers to show you."

            Kitty plunked down on her bed and sighed, twirling the umbrella.

            "I suppose I could drop in on Juri-san," Kitty said.  "I haven't seen her since she went to the infirmary."

            "Then why don't you do that," Lily said, a trifle impatiently from behind her algebra textbook.  It was only Saturday, and Kitty had only been going on about this magical world of swords and dueling and the secret identities of their teachers for that long, but for Lily, that was plenty long enough.  "I realize that you have to save the world from the English teacher, but I still have to pass math."

            Kitty sighed and got up, putting down the umbrella.

            "Okay, I'll be back soon."

            "Take your time.  Please," Lily replied dryly.  Kitty stuck her tongue out at her and walked out, shoving her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt.  

            "Hi Kitty,"

            "Hello Kitty," two voices said the second she emerged from Marlowe.

            "Great," she said angrily, as Jean and Scott stepped in front of her. "What do you two want?"

            "Just to talk," Scott said gently.  "We're friends, aren't we?"  Kitty's eyes narrowed.

            "Yeah, funny you should mention that, cause I had this other friend once, maybe you remember her," she said, walking through Jean and Scott's roadblock. "Brown hair, white streak, _used to have free will!_"  

            "Kitty, you have to understand," Jean said, both of them following after her.  "This is the best chance we have to make the world a better place!"

            "We're only doing what the Professor wants."

            "The Professor wanted you to stab Rogue, Scott?  Oh, well that makes it okay then!  God, what is _wrong _with you two?"

            "Kitty, do you have any idea what the final victor of the duels gets?  Did the chairwoman and her friends even tell you that much?" Jean asked.

            "Don't care," Kitty replied.  

            "The power to revolutionize the world, in the most real and true sense.  When that castle comes down, we can make the whole world accept mutants, without a drop of blood being shed," Jean continued. "No one would have to die.  No more mutant kids being disowned and left to fend for themselves.  No more innocent people being massacred by Magneto.  It could all be okay."

            "And all you had to do was stab one of your best friends in the back.  I'm sorry, in the chest," Kitty replied.

            "Think of the bigger picture, Kitty," Scott said.  "Is the price really that high?"

            Kitty turned around and slapped him, nearly knocking his glasses off his face.

            "You two," she seethed.  "Are both sick.  I don't know when you started thinking like this, or what Professor Xavier and Professor Kiryuu told you, but you're sick.  If I'm the only X-Man who hasn't lost her mind, then fine, I'll stop you myself."

            Jean and Scott stopped as Kitty continued walking.

            "You and what sword, Kitty Pryde?" Jean muttered, too quietly for anyone but Scott to hear.

            "Should we tell the Professor?" Scott said.

            "It's just Kitty, Scott, she's nothing we can't handle on our own."

            Kitty continued her path over to Byron as before, except now she felt a new hatred burning in her heart.  The Professor, Scott and Jean had entirely one-eightied on the philosophies they'd all fought so hard for, in favor of a quick, magic fix.  All they had to do was sacrifice a friend whose trust had been so hard won.  Sick.  She shivered.  

            _Kinda cold for September, _she thought as she reached the doors of Byron.  She reached out and pressed the button next to Juri's name.__

            "Yes?" Juri's voice said over the speaker.

            "Juri-san, it's Kitty.  If you're not busy, could I come talk to you?"

            "Third floor," Juri replied, followed by a metallic buzz heralding that the door was unlocked.

            Kitty had never been inside Byron and was shocked at the size of it.  It was like the time Kurt had dragged her into that Cathedral and wait while he went to confession, all high ceilings and huge windows and open space that made you feel like you were being watched.  She hurried up the stairs to the third floor, where she found Juri waiting in the only doorway.

            "Hi.  Thanks for seeing me," Kitty said as Juri stepped back inside and gestured for Kitty to follow.

            "It's no problem.  I've been bored, Miki keeps chasing me out of the fencing gymnasium."

            "How's your arm?" Kitty asked.  Juri rotated her shoulder and sighed.

            "Healing, slowly but properly I'm told."  She walked into her living room and sat down on a divan made of white velvet.  "Take a seat wherever you like.  What did you need to speak to me about?"

            Kitty sat down in an armchair and tried to think of where to begin.  

            "Well," she said.  "I have this ring, you know?  And I have two friends who've turned into total psychos, and one who's turned into a zombie.  And the only way to fix her seems to be these duels, so… could you teach me to fence?"

            Juri leaned forward and sighed.

            "I don't know," she said.  "You're a little old to start now."

            "Come on," Kitty protested, "I was a superhero for like, three years.  It won't take much for me to get back into shape."

            Juri looked at Kitty dubiously.

            "Please?" Kitty said.

            "Are you sure you don't want to take kendo?" Juri asked.  "Saionji could-"

            It was Kitty's turn to look dubious.

            "Fine," Juri sighed, standing up.  "We'll start with foil."

            Kitty jumped up.

            "I'm _so _ready!" Juri stepped out of the room.

            "Let me change, we'll go see if Miki's at the gymnasium."

            When Juri reemerged, Kitty noticed her tucking her locket into her fencing jacket.

            "Why do you keep hiding that?" Kitty asked.  "It's so pretty."

            Juri gave her a stern look.

            "You saw what was inside at the dueling arena, yes?"

            "Well, yeah-"

            "Then you know exactly why," she said, ushering Kitty out the door and locking it.  Juri was mistaken, however if she thought that ended the line of questioning, which continued all the way to the gymnasium.

            "Who's the blue haired guy?" Kitty asked.

            "Ruka."

            "Who's he?"

            "My dead friend," Juri replied.

            "I'm sorry."

            "It happened a long time ago."

            Kitty stretched her arms into the air, fingers interlaced.

            "Were you in love with him?" she asked.

            "Not while he was alive."

            "Oh… was he in love with you?" 

            "Where in God's name did you learn to be so nosy?" Juri exclaimed.

            "My blue haired friend Kurt."

            "Is he dead?" Juri asked.

            "No."

            "Were you in love with him?"

            "No!  Ew!" Kitty replied.

            "Was he in love with you?"

            "No fair changing the subject!" Kitty protested.  "Back to you locket."

            Juri sighed irritably.

            "So why is that _other _picture in there?" Kitty asked, not at all subtly.

            "That's enough."

            "Come on, you can tell me!"

            "Don't push me, Kitty."

            "Are you in love with him?"

            "Kitty," Juri said, stopping where she stood.  "You, a girl who has never picked up a foil before, are about to go toe to toe with me, a seasoned sword fighter.  Do you really think it's in your best interests to upset me?"

            "I'm not fighting you, you're injured, I'm gonna fight Professor Kaoru.  Anyway, you and Mister Locket are always so crabby with each other.  Or is it one of those love-hate things?"

            Juri sighed, her hand on the door handle of the gym.

            "I am an impeccable dresser.  My apartment is beautifully designed.  I have an eye for color, detail, and form.  However, there is one arena in which my taste is questionable.  That is all I have to say on the matter."

            "Does he know?"

            "No."

            "Do you want him to?"

            "No."

            "Why not?"

            "Because the knowledge would disagree with him," she said.  Her hand tightened on the door handle as she recalled Utena dragging her into his apartment the day before, seeing him dumbstruck by Himemiya.  "His interests are elsewhere."

            With that, Juri opened the door, Kitty shut up, and they walked in.

            "Stop! Time out, time out," Miki shouted to his opponent when he saw Juri.  "Juri, you're my dearest friend, but I'm not letting you fence today!  Please don't make me call Utena for back-up," he pleaded, walking over.

            "Oh you're not fighting me," Juri said.  "You're fighting Miss Nosy here."  She headed into a closet as Miki looked vaguely panicked.

            "I thought Saionji was-"

            Kitty gave him a look.  

            "Right," Miki said.  "No Saionji, okay."

            "How tall are you?" Juri called.

            "Five one," Kitty said, only to have a jacket thrown at her.  

            "Try that.  It should be snug but not restrictive."  

            Over the next several hours, Miki taught Kitty the basic forms of fencing, Juri critiquing and correcting minutia in her form.  She'd learned the most basic of thrusts and parries, what was a legal target in foil, making her practice each until they'd pounded out any flaws in these basics.

            "How many more times do I have to do this?" Kitty asked, stepping forward and thrusting for what felt like the millionth time.  

            "Until your arm falls off," Juri said, relaxing in a chair.  Miki sighed.

            "Don't discourage her!" he said.  "Kitty, these are the basics.  Everything else builds on this, so it's vital that you learn it correctly.  Fencing is less about thinking than knowing instinctively what to do.  If you have to think about what to do next, your opponent will take advantage of your hesitation.  So your whole body has to know what comes next, not just your mind."

            "Like muscle memory?"

            "Exactly," Miki replied.  "Juri, do you want to call it quits for today and go get some dinner?"

            Kitty's head came up sharply.

            "What time is it?" she asked.  Miki checked his stop watch.

            "About six.  The sun's going down."

            Kitty's sword arm fell.

            "I didn't say stop," Juri said, but didn't chastise further when she saw the look of fear on Kitty's face.

            "Do you think they've had another duel?" Kitty asked in a small voice.  Miki and Juri looked at one another.

            "Only one way to find out," Miki said grimly.

            All three changed out of fencing clothes and walked over to Beaudelaire in silence, and Miki knocked on the door.  A few moments later the door swung open, and a disheveled Kozue, her shirt halfway open.

            "My my my," she smiled when she saw who'd come calling.  "My precious brother.  What can I do for you?"

            Miki swallowed hard, trying to ignore his sister's attire.

            "Was there a duel today?"

            "There was, Miki.  Are you here to challenge the victor?  Oh, how's your arm Juri?" she asked, glancing at the other woman.

            "Healing nicely, thank you Kozue.  How's Touga's throat?"

            "No one's challenging anyone yet," Miki snapped.  "Who is the victor?"

            Kozue leaned against the doorframe, exposing more cleavage to Miki's chagrin.

            "You're looking at her, big brother.  Now if you'll excuse me, Touga and I were just celebrating."

            The door slammed shut in Miki's face.  He turned grimly and looked at the other two.

            "There's our answer.  We should go tell Saionji."


End file.
